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Published: December 20th 2006
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Day 20 - Auckland - Tutukaka (210kms)
Having charged through the North Island and reached Auckland ahead of schedule (with ulterior motives!) we continue north to the little hamlet of Tutukaka for access to the diving mecca that is the Poor Knights Islands. Put on the map by Jacques Cousteau (who named the islands in his top ten dive sites in the world) this cluster of islands has been a marine reserve for the last 20 odd years resulting in a pristine marine environment and a reputation for the best sub - tropical diving on the planet! We book ourselves in for the following days trip and retire to our lovely little campsite to enjoy the summer sun (which has emerged at last) and continue our attempts to wash the smell of Rotorua (sulphur) out of our clothes!
Day 21 & 22 - Dive Tutukaka - Poor Knights Islands
Unsure what to expect from our first cold water dive experience we arrive at the shop at 8am to get kitted up with thick wetsuits/jackets/hoods/booties before boarding our boat for the day (Calypso) and setting sail for the islands. It’s a glorious day again and after a relaxing cruise
out we reach our first dive spot - Middle Arch - where we get kitted up and take the plunge into the chilly 17º waters. Despite some initial navigation problems(!) we explore the arch, and adjoining underwater cave, before returning to the boat for a much needed cuppa and hot shower (all mod cons). After lunch we take a cruise round the islands where our skipper navigates us through some of the many archways and into the worlds largest (by volume) sea cave where we test the acoustics with some synchronised shouting!
Our second dive of the day is at Blue Mau Mau (type of fish) Arch which stretches for about 20m underwater and includes a cool little swim through (tunnel) which you can use to enter the arch. On our descent we get lucky and spot a big stingray gliding gracefully in the other direction and having watched it disappear into the blue we head into the arch to explore. This was an awesome dive site with the walls either side plastered in splashes of bright colours from all the plants, sponges, sea squirts, anemones, urchins, fan corals etc which inhabit it. We also come across several Moray
Eels in all their splendour (rather than just a head popping out from a hole) and find a few massive Scorpion fish doing their best to impersonate grumpy looking rocks! As if this wasn’t enough for one day, on the trip home we come across a big pod of dolphins in playful mood who entertain us with a full acrobatic show of their best moves. Nice.
Having spent the evening trying to remember the extent of our credit card spending to date we unfortunately come to the decision that another days diving would be an extravagance we can ill afford. Fortunately however after a few glasses of Sauv Blanc we convince ourselves it would be rude not to take advantage of this unique opportunity and promptly book in for the following day whilst vowing to do nothing and eat only soup whilst in Auckland!!!! Another day, another boat (the smaller El Tigre this time) and it’s back out to the islands for 2 more dives - firstly Fraggle Rock (where we found a big Crayfish hiding in a hole and a cool Firebrick Starfish amongst other things) followed by Magic Wall. Both were excellent but Magic Wall was a
definite standout and a fitting way for us to reach our 30th dive mark. Team Scotland (that’s us) get kitted up sharpish and are first into the water for the descent to the sandy channel which lies at the bottom of the wall - a favourite hangout for Long Tail Stingrays! Our keenness is rewarded when we reach the bottom and spot several of them resting on the sand (biggest one about 1.5m across) and a few gliding off into the distance. The rest of the dive is spent traversing the wall where the bright colours and abundance of cool stuff to look at made it one of the best sites we’ve dived so far and every bit as spectacular as the Great Barrier Reef (albeit in a different way).
Day 23 - 27 - Auckland (210kms)
Not much else to report here I’m afraid! We took our van back and checked into Verandahs Backpackers (nice hostel in old 3 storey house with huge verandahs) and whilst not quite living on soup for the remaining 4 days we did take things very easy and apart from a few walks into the city and some further attempts to clean
our contaminated clothes, some of which are no more!
Well that concludes our whistle stop tour of beautiful New Zealand after 4206km (roughly). Cant wait to get back to see everyone but for anyone we don’t manage to see hope you all have a great Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!
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Daniel Mc Govern
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Cheesier and Dinner on the Veranda
You guys what great pics and the dolfpins great. Heather I have a cheerier pic of you with specks on and you just look the same as you were in South Africa same smile and good looks. Simon i can tell you too you are dong well and you taking care of Heather as you seem to be losing weight, your looking well especially on the Veranda. Best wishes to you both and glad you having a fantastic time. Think I might post that pic of you on your blog Heather.... I would have said .. YOU LITTLE MADAME lol . Hope you have a good time at home for XMAS or CHRISTMAS.Catch up with you later lol DANIEL